A COMMUNITY is coming together to raise money for an elderly resident who fell victim to alleged fraudulent builders.

Haltwhistle residents are united in support of Dorothy Prince, known as Dolly, (74) whose home has been left in a ravaged and unfinished state after construction work was abruptly abandoned.

Care assistant, Pat Fleming, has come to Dolly’s aid to set up a fund-raising campaign to pay for tradesmen and materials to recover the damage.

Pat said Dolly was visited by cold-calling alleged tradesmen on Blenkinsop Castle Home Park touting for working two weeks ago who pointed out an area on her property in need of repair.

“She was initially quoted over £100 but they later said further work to other problems would need to be done,” Pat explained.

Dolly initially had no cause for concern - she received a leaflet with the company’s details on and they insisted they would return to complete the work.

However after two days of no further work, Dolly expressed her concerns to Pat.

Pat said: “They constantly hounded her saying they needed more money for materials. They had pulled all the bottom of the property off and it was exposed.

“I later found Dolly had handed over £7,000.

“She’s just fallen for it hook, line and sinker. They’ve done of with her money and left her property in this horrific state of repair.”

Northumbria Police said it was contacted about the incident, but it does not comment on civil matters.

Pat said Dorothy, who lives alone, was left feeling intimidated, pressurised and helpless after the work.

Pat, who has worked in care for 20 years in the Haltwhistle area, said she is aware of the dangers of the elderly falling victim to cold callers, but never one of her clients.

The Blenkinsopp Castle Home Park area is frequented by elderly residents, but Pat insisted the work on Dolly’s home should never have been done in the first place.

She said: “They’ve totally ripped her off ,”she added. The residents committee have contacted the police about introducing measures to prevent cold callers from entering the park.

“These people have taken advantage of someone very vulnerable, but luckily there’s been a lot of people willing to help.”

An online fund-raiser has already raised more than £300 for repair work with Haltwhistle residents and tradesmen pledging their support.

Northumberland Trading Standards were contacted for comment.